Connectors have been in use in furniture design for many years. Various connection devices have been proposed to attach tabletops to support frames. Some of these connection systems were fairly complex, requiring a variety of assembly tools as well as considerable amount of time to make the connection between a table top and a supporting frame. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,366,079 each leg of the frame had to be individually inserted into an appropriate slot at the edge of the tabletop. Following insertion of each of the table legs, a central bracket had to be connected to fix the position of all of the table legs with respect to each other. Each leg was further secured in position by virture of an interaction between a depression on the upper end of each leg and a detent built into the tabletop.
French Pat. No. 1,202,253 made public Jan. 11, 1960, discloses a tabletop having a plurality of hook-shaped elements which are brought into engagement with a frame and then screwed into the tabletop to fix the position of the tabletop with respect to the frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,503,780 issued Mar. 12, 1985 discloses a furniture construction, such as a table, and a method for attaching a closed loop stretchable edging to a rigid rim of the table. The method involves a fairly complex stretching apparatus to stretch the edging to a size greater than the perimeter of the rim of the tabletop. The tabletop is then placed within the stretched loop and the stretching apparatus is disengaged permitting the edging to retract and elastically engage the rim. The edging includes a flexible upper lip which is pulled back to permit a tabletop panel to be positioned under the lip. When the lip is allowed to retract the lip engages the edge portion of the tabletop panel securing the tabletop panel to the rim of the table.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,215,097 shows a plurality of support legs to support a tabletop. The tabletop has a built in bead 15 and abutment 28. Each of the legs has a leg locking head 22 mounted on its end. The head 22 is made of plastic and has a heel 25 which is positioned against abutment 28 and the toe 26 extending in the opposite direction from heel 25. When the tabletop is placed upside down on the support surface and each leg is pushed toward the tabletop, the toe 26 flexes over the bead 15 and locks into place behind it. When the table is turned right side up, the weight of the table is held principally due to the interaction between heel 25 and abutment 28. As a result of the contact between heel 25 and abutment 28 and the contact between toe 26 and rim 14, the position of the tabletop is fixed. It should be noted that when the table is turned right side up there is only contact between toe 26 and the innerface of rim 14. the weight of the tabletop is on heels 25.
The Finkel Company sells a quick connect system using a rigid plastic connector having a projection thereon. The projection extends through a notch in a closure. The tabletop is secured when the closure is rotated moving the projection out of alignment from the notch.
It is an object of this invention to provide for a simple snap connecting apparatus for attaching two members together preferably a tabletop to support legs.
It is further object of this invention to provide an apparatus that can be simply assembled and disassembled without the use of special tools or the like and can be assembled and disassembled relatively quickly.